Electric Eden, The Old Punter’s Personal Reflections
Electric Eden – Unearthing Britain’s Visionary Music Rob Young Faber & Faber 664p. The Old Punter's Personal Reflections: Traditional folk songs may be valued not least for the spare, uncluttered economy of their language. Electric Eden cannot be said to share fully in this virtue. At 607 pages of text plus 55 of notes and index the book offers the length of, say, The Gest...
Helstonia – Pentire, No. 5 Church Street
I have been unable to find any documentation that would date this house precisely. However, a comparative examination of their respective frontages leads me to believe that the building is contemporaneous with the Andrew Hall, the former Helston Church of England National School that is dated 1828. In fact the similarities in architectural style and materials lead me to think...
A Diamond on a Hilltop
A Diamond on a Hilltop The ancient Somerset market town of Crewkerne, like many such places, lies in a bowl, its main roads rising from its centre to the approximate points of the compass. There is a particularly abrupt elevation to the east at the top of which, overlooking the town, is a majestic line of venerable trees known as the...
Helstonia – The Red Lion Inn
“The Red Lion is the badge of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth son of Edward III. He lived from 1340-1399 and the Red Lion began appearing as pub sign during the following century. The Red Lion of Scotland is quartered on the shield of Britain and is there shown as a red lion rampant on a gold...
The Mason’s Coin
Charl found the silver box under a window seat. The object was small and delicate; no more than three inches square and two deep, with a faded blue ribbon around it, tied in an elaborate bow. It had a floral design etched into its hinged top and the fine, curling tracery was tarnished black. The young tradesman looked at...
Helstonia – William Clifton Odger, Helston Schoolmaster
William Clifton Odger was a prominent figure in Helston life throughout the mid-19th Century. He was born in the town, circa 1797. His father, also William, was a watch & clockmaker and almost certainly an engraver. One of his productions – a beautifully engraved sundial – was presented to John Rowe in 1792 to mark the end of the fourth...
Notes of a Footnote – Part Two – South With The Italians & Other Stops – 6 – Dirty Waters
In my youth the street-lore of the Lower West Side (not to be confused in this instance with Greenwich Village) related that the last serious Irish/Italian war across Seventh Avenue took place during the summer of 1953. At that time the stretch of Seventh Avenue south from Greenwich Avenue to the Varick Street extension constituted the rough boundary between the...